The JOLTS Jobs data surprised again, however this time on the downside. There are currently 7.6 million job openings. Analysts had forecasted eight million openings. November’s data however was revised higher and the “Quit Rate” (workers who are quitting to find another job) rose to 2.0% up from 1.9%.
The data suggests the labor market is still resilient and workers’ confidence is not eroding.
How will this data be reflected in Friday’s BLS labor report?
The Treasury market rallied across the spectrum with essentially no change in the slope of the yield curve.
Led by big tech and energy [a strange combination], equites were mixed. Bloomberg writes that META rose for a 12th consecutive session—”the longest stretch ever” questioning whether or not the advance is overdone.
The latest volleys in the trade war indicated that China is taking a more cautious approach as that country instituted a 15% tariff on roughly 80 products according to newswires.
As widely discussed, a 30-day reprieve was awarded to both Canada and Mexico.
Many are speculating that there will be “a reasonable likelihood” that the ultimate impact form these tariffs may be less than expected.
Commenting on the President offer for retirement, about 1% [approximately 20,000] of the federal workforce has accepted the offer according to the Administration and it is widely expected this number to rise by the end of the week with some suggesting the offer could cull as much as 10% of the federal workforce.
The Administration has required all federal workers to return to their offices by February 6 or risk termination. Data suggests only 6% of federal workers are presently working in their offices.
Recent data states that there are 2.3 million civilian employees and the “buyout offer” has been met with steep resistance from the National Treasury Employees Union, the American Federation of Government Employees and perhaps even from the Office of Personnel Management as it has given “increasingly more detailed guidance on the negative side of the offer.”
After the close, GOOG posted results that missed expectations sending shares down over 9%.
Today the top tier ISM Services Index is released as well as a global economic activity index. What will this data suggest?
Last night the foreign markets were down. London was up 0.12%, Paris was down 0.14% and Frankfurt down 0.02%. China was down 0.65%, Japan up 0.09% and Hang Seng down 0.93%.
Dow and NASDAQ futures are flat and down 1%, respectively, the result of GOOG’s earnings report and news that China may probe into AAPL’s business practices sending shares of the company down over 3%.
The 10-year is up 10/32 to yield 4.48%.
